


fireworks

by connabeth



Series: Summer Days [1]
Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bittersweet?, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Nonsense, TOA spoilers, a lil 4th of july thing, college-era Percabeth, oops its july 5th
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25082209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connabeth/pseuds/connabeth
Summary: Some 4th of July shenanigans at Camp Half Blood. Set the summer after Percy and Annabeth's first year at college. Contains spoilers for The Burning Maze.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: Summer Days [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816540
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	fireworks

“LEO! I swear to all the gods if you fucking TRY to roast my wings with those hands again I will lock you in Bunker Nine with Holly and Laurel Victor,” Piper threatened, clearly fed up with Leo attempts to see how well he could cook the chicken wings with his powers. Leo paled at the thought of being stuck anywhere with the two squabbling daughters of Nike and immediately backed down.

Everyone was gathered on the Fireworks Beach at Camp Half Blood for the annual 4th of July festivities. Campers usually enjoyed a swim session and barbecue dinner in the evening just before the sunset, followed by a romantic night of fireworks, courtesy of the Hephaestus cabin. Many campers that had since moved on to college had dropped by camp for the summer traditions, including Percy, Annabeth, the Stolls, and Clarisse. Annabeth had even managed to get Magnus into camp (technically he was a demigod) just so he could experience Camp Half Blood at its best. Although, it had made for an interesting encounter with Nico when Annabeth was showing Magnus around camp.

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She was in the middle of pointing out the Big House when the son of Hades walked out of the infirmary, a laughing Will Solace right behind him.

“Oh, hey Annabeth,” Will greeted. “Who’s this? A new sibling?”

“This is actually my cousin, Magnus. He’s clear-sighted. He’s just visiting for the weekend from Boston. Chiron wants to meet with him because...he offered to help with...camp renovations.”

It wasn’t her best lie, Magnus was a 16 year old that had no business renovating things, and Will and Nico looked skeptical at best, but Annabeth hoped they wouldn’t ask any more questions because the whole Norse gods thing wasn’t common knowledge to everyone at camp. Or Egyptian gods for that matter. Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron had kept it on the down low. Technically, mortals were allowed within camp borders, if permitted from the inside. Plus, Chiron was interested in learning a little more about Magnus’s side of things and invited the boy to speak with him. Demigods’ clear-sighted relatives generally didn’t just drop by camp, but people learned not to question Annabeth, considering she was their unofficial leader. She and Percy sometimes (okay, most of the time) played by their own rules. Will and Nico exchanged pleasantries with Magnus and bid Annabeth their goodbyes, continuing to stroll past the cousins, hand in hand.

Just as she was about to sigh in relief, Nico abruptly stopped mid-step. He slowly turned around.

“You’re dead.” he told Magnus bluntly.

“Is that a threat or a statement?” Magnus said, trying to play it off.

“No, I mean...you...I-I can sense that you’re dead. Physically. I’m not wrong about these kinds of things.”

Magnus glanced at Annabeth in his peripheral vision, not sure what to do. She nodded subtly with a resigned look, as if giving him permission. Magnus turned back to Nico.

“Ok so maybe I am. It’s kind of a long story, but I’m sure Annabeth will explain it to you later. Right?”

Annabeth cursed under her breath and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.” She turned to Nico and Will. “This cannot get out, understand? Come meet Chiron with me later.”

“I don’t even know what “this” is, but yes ma’am.” Will responded, guiding a dazed Nico away from the blondes.

“So much for keeping my cover. How did he know anyway?” Magnus asked his cousin.

“He’s a son of Hades, god of the dead.”

"Ah. Explains the outfit. That’s like, the exact opposite of Alex’s wardrobe. Some 2004 Gerard Way type shit. He could afford to pick up a thing or two from his boyfriend there.”

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Annabeth was pulled back to the present when she heard the Stolls’ laughter get noticeably louder. She turned to see that Percy had shedded his camp shirt and shorts for a tiny, _tiny_ speedo. It was one of those obnoxious American flag ones, with the stars on one side and the stripes on the other. Annabeth stifled a laugh. No wonder he hadn’t just worn his swim trunks to the beach.

As ridiculous as he looked, she couldn’t deny that seeing miles of his smooth bronze skin did it for her. His lean, yet powerful muscles rippled with every movement, sweat-slicked skin catching the flaming orange of the afternoon sun’s rays. His jet black hair was wavy and windswept, as he easily pulled off the messy hair look. His muscular thighs were openly displayed thanks to the lack of clothing on his lower half. Plus, the Speedo didn’t leave much to the imagination at all. Not that Annabeth needed to _imagine_ anything, anyway. It just wasn’t fair how hot he was. Even in a loud red, white, and blue speedo. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.

So she settled on, “You look like a virginal frat boy.” Connor cackled at his expense.

“Thank you,” Percy replied, in stride. “But I’m guessing I’m not gonna be so virginal tonight,” he winked at her knowingly. He knew exactly what his speedos did for her, that _fucker_. He didn’t put two and two together immediately, but enough swim meets later he realized just how much they turned her on.

“Okay, let’s save the flirting for the fireworks, guys. I don’t need to hear more about your relationship than I already do,” Travis teased.

“You say that like you weren’t the one _hiding behind a fucking bush and recording us_ , waiting for the kiss two years ago,” Annabeth reminded him. Percy smirked as he recalled that evening.

“Yeah, well you got us back by not coming back up for, like, an _hour_. We didn’t really think the whole “son of Poseidon” thing through. But seriously, what were you guys doing in the lake for _that long_? We all left after ten minutes cause we got bored and clearly you guys were _busy_.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy said, that little smirk never fading. Truth was, he and Annabeth had made out for a while, made things official (with a lot of shyness and nervousness on Percy’s part), and talked through all that happened during the battle with each other.

When the Stolls walked away, Annabeth turned to her boyfriend and asked, “Why are you wearing that, anyway? That’s like the _last_ thing you would buy. And it’s not like you need swim clothes anyway.”

“I lost a bet to the Stolls. But, judging by your reaction, it was worth it,” he teased, poking her cheek gently. Rolling her eyes, Annabeth pulled off her clothes to reveal a baby blue bikini she had bought earlier this summer. It was Percy’s turn to gawk. She would never get used to the way he looked at her, like she was the most captivating thing in the world.

She blushed under his stare, and pulled on his hand. “Come on. We still have half an hour before the fireworks. Wanna get a head start on tonight?” Annabeth beckoned.

Percy didn’t need to be asked twice, as he picked her up, earning a surprised yelp from her, and submerged both of them into the waves. If anybody saw, they didn’t mention it.

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Eventually, everyone had regrouped on the beach, pausing their shenanigans to settle down on the blankets laid out in the sand. Percy and Annabeth sat huddled close together, legs overlapping, arms tangled, her head resting on his broad shoulders. They chose a spot closer to the water than the rest of the campers, partly for the sake of privacy, partly because they didn’t need to worry about staying dry. Perks of dating a son of the sea god.

Fiery bursts of golden sparks filled the night, and faded, raining down on the sky. Because the Hephaestus kids were no ordinary engineers, and Leo and Harley were masters of pyrotechnics, there were a few special fireworks, commemorating some significant moments from the camp’s past few summers. A ship, the Argo II. A satyr in a wedding dress. A bronze dragon head. Percy and Annabeth exchanged a secretive smile at that one.

“Remember our first fireworks together?” Annabeth reminisced.

“How could I forget? I was shitting my pants trying to ask you out and then you fucking _took me prisoner_ and asked _me_ out like it was nothing.” He poked her in the stomach, accusingly. “But it was pretty hot, not gonna lie.” She laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap as they turned their gazes back to the sky.

There was one shaped like a lightning bolt. For Jason. Everyone held each other a little tighter at that one. Death never waited for the perfect moment. It was painful, unforgiving, blindsiding. That was just the nature of it, especially in the demigod world. Any hero, like Jason, who thought they were done, thought they were free, could get pulled right back into the middle of it. And be gone, just like that, like they never existed. It was a terrifying, maddening thought, but one Percy and Annabeth were slowly coming to terms with, as unjust and unfair as it was. There were many days their minds just drifted, wondering what their life could be like if they had overthrown the gods with Luke, because although his approach was ten different kinds of wrong, he was justified in his bitterness. And maybe those feelings would never go away, but they did their best to suppress them.

They were enjoying the peacefulness New Rome had to offer and there was a whole new generation of demigods on the way, so they weren’t too worried. Annabeth was in the process of designing and constructing New Athens as an extension of Camp. Somewhere close to the city she and Percy could live in peace. Or at least as peacefully as a demigod could hope for. Annabeth focused on the gentle crashing of the waves, the crackling and thundering of the fireworks ahead, the warbled melodies of some pop song blaring from a speaker, the faint smell of barbecue and woodsmoke lingering in the air, the way the fireshow lit up the contours of Percy’s face in the night, the soft rise and fall of his chest underneath her, the tight interlocking of their fingers like he was never going to let her go. It was hard to say what the future held. But for now, she was happy. In the arms of the boy she loved, surrounded by the family she loved. And that was enough.


End file.
